CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 64 Harvard women’s tennis team clinched its 18th Ivy League title in its 35th season of existence today over Dartmouth, defeating the Big Green, 6-1. The championship is the first for head coach Traci Green at Harvard and overall. The title caps one of the biggest turnarounds in program history, finishing 13-8 overall and 6-1 in the Ivy League, alongside Princeton. Last season Harvard finished 2-17 overall and ranked seventh in the Ancient Eight at 2-5.
After taking the doubles point in under an hour, the Crimson’s ninth consecutive, seniors Beier Ko and Laura Peterzan, playing in their last match at the Murr Center, made short work of their opponents, stifling them in two sets each to give the Crimson a 3-0 lead and setting up for a dramatic clinching point.
Ko took on Big Green ace, Molly Scott. The two hammered it out, trading points all the way to 4-3 in Ko’s favor. The Boca Raton, Fla., native would not look back from there as she took the set 6-3. In the second, Ko surrendered her first point after building a 3-0 lead, before shutting down Scott, 6-1, to take the match.
Peterzan built a comfortable lead for herself in the first, 4-1, before her opponent Mary Beth Winingham scored her second point to make it 4-2. Peterzan would then close down the match at 6-2. The London, England native then carried some steam into the second, carrying a 3-1 lead on her back. Winingham would make it interesting at 4-3, before Peterzan finally won at 6-3.
Freshman Caroline Davis at No. 6 had Harvard's first chance to clinch, leading 5-3 in the second set. Her opponent, Ryan Reichel, rallied to win the second set, 7-5, and force a third. Davis would later go onto to win the third set, 6-3.
With the No. 6 match going to another set, the focus of attention then carried over to court No. 4, where Agnes Sibilski was taking on Dartmouth’s Georgiana Smyser. Previously in the match, Sibilski had a dominant first set against Smyser, opening 3-2 before punching the ticket at 6-2. Smyser bounced back in the second after falling 2-1 to open. The match was then tied at 4-4 before Sibilski dropped the next two games and the set, 6-4.
With all eyes in the viewing gallery on her and a chance to wrap up a share of the league title, Sibilski took the first five games of the match very quickly to give her a 5-0 lead and leaving the Crimson one game away from its illustrious 18th Ivy League title. Smyser, however, won two straight games to make the score, 5-2.
Green went to Sibilski, as the players switched sides, to calm the young sophomore down. “I told her ‘you’re still up 5-2,” said Green, “there’s a plenty of time to win this thing. You’re playing great, just keep it up.”
The Bethesda, Md., native heeded her coaches advice, taking a 40-15 advantage before sealing the win for Harvard. After Sibilski shook hands with Smyser, seniors Ko and Peterzan were quick to give Sibilski a congratulatory hug, followed by the rest of her teammates. Sibilski finished the season with a team-leading 12 wins in spring duals.
Although the match was clinched already, that did not deter freshman Holly Cao and sophomore Samantha Rosekrans at No. 5 and No. 3, respectively, from finishing strong.
Rosekrans played a tough three sets against Jesse Adler, defeating Adler, 7-5, in the first set and dropping the second set, 6-3. In the third set, Rosekrans took immediate control with a 3-1 advantage before Adler fired back to make it, 4-3. The Woodside, Calif., native kept her composure under the circumstances and took down Adler, 6-3, to win her 11th match of the season.
Cao took on Carley Markovitz on court No. 5. She opened up the match, 1-0, but soon saw herself tied up 1-1. Cao kept herself in contention as she was only behind by one point, 4-3. She would drop the first match, 6-3, but fought back from advantage numerous times in the first and second. Cao was quickly down 5-1 in the second, before pulling within one at 5-4. Markovitz then took control of the match to win 6-4. “Holly really played well today, she allowed her teammates to come back in their matches and played a key role in today’s victory,” said Green.
In doubles, it was the usual suspects. Ko and Sibilski teamed up to make short work of Scott and Winingham, 8-2, at No. 1, followed by Rosekrans and Cao at No. 2 and freshman Camille Jania and Peterzan at No. 3. Jania and Peterzan would go onto stymie Julia Zak and Carissa King, 8-1. Rosekrans and Cao fell, 8-4, to Adler and Smyser.
Top individuals will await selection for the NCAA individual championships, which begins May 15. Ko has competed in the last two singles tournaments and is looking to make her third consecutive appearance.
Singles
1. Beier Ko (H) def. Molly Scott (D), 6-3, 6-1
2. Laura Peterzan (H) def. Mary Beth Winingham (D), 6-2, 6-3
3. Samantha Rosekrans (H) def. Jesse Adler (D), 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
4. Agnes Sibilski (H) def. Georgiana Smyser (D) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
5. Carley Markovitz (D) def. Holly Cao (H), 6-3, 6-4
6. Caroline Davis (H) def. Ryan Reichel (D), 6-2, 7-5
Doubles
1. Ko/Sibilski (H) def. Scott/Winingham (D), 8-2
2. Adler/Smyser (D) def. Rosekrans/Cao (H), 8-4
3. Jania/Peterzan (H) def. Julia Zak/Carissa King (D), 8-1
